


Space Between

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Smallville
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, F/M, Grief, Loss, Miscarriage, PTSD, Triggery, Troubled Marriage, Violence, marriage issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:13:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24122659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Chloe and Oliver deal with unexpected obstacles in their relationship. Post season 10.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Lois Lane, Chloe Sullivan & Mia Dearden, Oliver Queen & Mia Dearden, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

"Can you pass the salt?" Chloe asked as she served herself some of the mashed potatoes then looked up at her husband who was sitting across from her by the dining room table of the Star City penthouse. The entire apartment was quiet and still if not for the soft noises from the silverware hitting the dishes.

"Of course," he said, picking up the glass salt shaker and holding it out to her before looking back down at his plate. He cut another bite of chicken and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly and glancing over at her for a moment.

"Thank you," she told him, taking a deep breath as she leaned back against her chair and took a bite of her food, looking down at her plate as she ate.

"Welcome," he answered, picking up his water glass and taking a sip. He was silent for a long moment. "Have a good day at work?"

"Yeah," she nodded, glancing at him then back down, "busy. How was yours?"

"Also busy," he murmured. "Very busy." He looked down at his plate once more, as well.

Chloe nodded and sipped on her wine then nodded slightly, "I'm going to Metropolis tomorrow, I mentioned it, right?"

Oliver paused, glancing up again. "Oh. Did you?" His eyebrows furrowed a little.

"I thought I had," she told him, looking back at him and actually holding his gaze this time, "the Lexcorp press conference that Lex called a couple of days ago?"

"Right. Right," he said, nodding a little. "Do you want to take the jet?"

She finished chewing then shook her head a little, "no, it's okay. I'll have Clark pick me up. I have a lot to do tomorrow before I go so I don't want to waste time with flying."

He watched her for a moment, then dropped his gaze to focus on his plate, finishing off his last bite of chicken. "All right."

Arching her eyebrows slightly, she glanced at him, "are you patrolling?"

He gave her a short nod. "Yeah, I was planning on it."

"Good," she nodded a little then set her silverware on the plate, "we had two more break ins in the East Beach area last night so it looks like they are at it again."

Oliver frowned a little at that. "And here I thought they'd given up."

"Looks like they won't until they are behind bars." She told him, reaching for her wine glass and sipping on it again as she leaned back against her chair.

He'd been hoping it wouldn't come to that. "They're just kids," he murmured, finishing off his glass of water.

"They are costing those people thousands of dollars in damage and merchandise, Oliver. They shouldn't be treated as 'just kids'." She told him before standing up and picking up her plate.

His jaw tightened just a little as he rose to his feet and began gathering dishes, carrying them toward the sink. "I'll look into it."

She gave him a look at that and started the water, shaking her head as she emptied her plate onto the garbage disposal, "you can't protect _all_ of them." She said tightly.

His chest tightened as he set his plate down, along with his glass and silverware. "I'm going out to start patrol early. Be safe tomorrow," he said quietly, dipping his head and kissing her cheek lightly, then heading out of the kitchen.

Chloe let out a breath and looked down, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before shaking her head once more, this time at herself and her own stupidity.


	2. Chapter 2

  


As the press conference ended, Chloe sighed deeply and shook her head, putting away her recorder and badge as she emptied out of Lexcorp's press room along with the rest of the reporters. Lex Luthor had just announced his candidacy for next year's presidential elections and while it was no surprise for anyone, it was most definitely unsettling for her and all of those who knew what he was capable of. Even if Lex himself didn't remember any of it, or any of _them_.

She reached for her phone and typed Oliver a quick text, telling him the news. It was going to affect him and his business after all. 

"I can't believe this is actually happening. I mean, I can, but I can't. You know?" Lois sighed as she walked alongside Chloe.

"I know," she shook her head a little and glanced up at her cousin, "it's unbelievable that people actually buy his bullshit." She said angrily then sighed, "or I guess he pays them to buy it is probably more accurate."

She linked her arm with Chloe's. "Well, at least one good thing came out of this little announcement."

Chloe checked on her phone for a reply but didn't see one so she slid it back in her purse then looked up at her cousin, a slight frown on her face, "what is it?"

Lois smiled at her. "I get to spend the day with my favorite cousin."

"Oh," she smiled softly back at Lois and nodded a little, "part of the night anyway, should we go get burgers for dinner?"

"Absolutely. Dirty's?" She raised her eyebrows, grinning.

"Of course," Chloe smirked, "no other place for burgers in the city. I would be highly disturbed if you offered anything else."

Lois smirked, as well. "I have to admit, I'm surprised you managed to get Ollie to let you come here by yourself."

She shook her head a little and smiled, looking down then back at her cousin, "he's busy, you know, Queen Industries, Green Arrow and now the community center, he's been spending a lot of time there." Her stomach clenched a little but her smile didn't falter.

"Don't tell me the honeymoon's over?" Her eyes widened a little.

Chloe smirked and shook her head once more as she looked away from her cousin. "How are things with Clark?"

"The honeymoon still hasn't started," Lois admitted, grimacing a little. "Something always comes up. But he's fine."

"You have been trying for nearly five years, Lo. I think it's about time you make it easy on yourselves and just do something simple."

"Chlo, since when do Clark or I ever do anything simple?" she teased.

"I guess it runs in the family." She agreed, nodding a little and looking up at her cousin.

"It definitely does." Lois shook her head, walking across the street with her toward the restaurant. "Conner's the same way, too."

Her stomach clenched once more at that and Chloe nodded, "how is he? I haven't seen him since Christmas."

"He's just like a young Clark Kent," she admitted, glancing sideways at her cousin. "Always playing the hero."

"I know," she smiled softly and nodded, "I've been reading the Torch."

Lois grinned. "Ah, the first true love." She nudged Chloe lightly with her elbow.

She shrugged a little and glanced up at Lois, "hard to let go of it, besides, the girl who is in charge of it now seems to be doing a good job, she's actually comparing the saves around Smallville to Superman's. Nothing too close, of course, but she has talent."

"I'll have to talk to them," Lois said, dropping her voice. "Have the whole 'hiding in plain sight' conversation with Clark Jr."

"I'll forward you some of the articles that are more telling to use as back up," she told her cousin, "did he decide on which school he's going to yet or is he taking another year off?"

She sighed softly. "He wants to take another year off. But I think it's a mistake. And I would know."

"Both you and Clark would know," Chloe pointed out, teasingly. "But it's different with him, he's _technically_ only five years old," she pointed out, lowering her voice.

Lois grimaced at that. "Don't remind me. It's weird."

"I know," she nodded a little then took a deep breath, "come on, I'm starving." She told her cousin as they approached the burger joint.

At that moment, Chloe's phone beeped to alert her to the fact she had a text message.

Chloe pursed her lips together and reached for her phone, she read the short message quickly and her chest tightened a little. _All right. Thanks for letting me know._ Was all it said so she dropped her phone quickly back in her purse and continued through the door.

Frowning at her actions, Lois followed her. "You all right?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "it was just Ollie, wondering when I'll be home. Do you think Clark would mind flying me back tonight?"

She relaxed a little, smirking. "I should've known," she teased. "I'm sure he'll be happy to. If I _let_ him. I feel like we never see each other."

"I know, I'm sorry, Lo. But I really need to have the article in by tonight, and you do too." She pointed out.

She sighed softly. "I know. I know. But one day very soon, we're both going to have to take some time off and go shoe shopping."

"Sounds like a plan," Chloe smiled, "but tonight, we'll have to settle for burgers, fries and milkshakes."

"I suppose if we must." She smiled back, shaking her head. It was good to have her cousin back in town. Even if it was only for a night.

It was going to have to be for only one night because being around Lois and Clark had become exhausting. At least Chloe had learned how to avoid unwanted questions.

And when she couldn't, she had learned how to give expected answers.

* * *

Oliver leaned back against the far wall of the gym, watching as Mia closed the door behind the last kid as the stream of them trailed out. He rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. "I'm gonna clean up the kitchen," he told her.

"I can do that," Mia offered, following him, "don't you have to go home and get some rest before your _third_ job of the day?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You _hate_ doing dishes."

"Should tell you how crappy you look if I'm offering," she pointed out, arching her eyebrows.

"Well, you try having three jobs and see if you still look awesome," he grumbled, frowning.

"Which is _why_ I'm offering you a break," Mia told him, rushing past him then standing by the kitchen door and blocking his way.

He stared at her. "What's with the sudden concern over my health?"

"You look crappier than usual?" She told him, trying for a smile.

"Seriously." He shook his head a little.

"Fine... I have a date." She said and sighed, "don't _ask_. I was just gonna sneak out now and do the dishes tomorrow morning."

"A date?" he echoed, raising his eyebrows a little and folding his arms across his chest. "Do I know this date?"

"No." Mia said, arching her eyebrows, "and there's a reason why you don't and you won't be meeting him until I decide he's worthy of it _and_ he won't be running for the door after you intimidate the hell out of him."

He frowned deeply. "I'm not _that_ bad."

She arched her eyebrows and gave him a look. "How many of my prospective boyfriends have you met, Ollie?"

Oliver shifted slightly under her disbelieving look. "I don't know. A few."

"Three." Mia told him, holding up three fingers for emphasis, "and that's how many you scared off. And yeah, it means they weren't good enough or whatever, but I would like to at least go on a few dates with this one." She paused, "he's _really_ hot."

"And what if he's also a complete self-absorbed jackass?"

"Then I'll just make out with him and not let him do any of the talking then dump him." Mia smirked.

He groaned at that, shutting his eyes. "Mia..."

"I can handle it," she told him, patting him on the arm, "now you go home and have a nice dinner and some rest before patrol, I'll make sure the dishes are done by tomorrow when the kids come in. Hell if the date is boring, I'll just drag him back here and make him do them for me."

"Just...be careful, all right?" He looked at her, worry in his eyes. "And if you need backup, _call_ me."

"I always call you when I need backup, don't I?" She told him, arching her eyebrows.

Oliver sighed softly. "All right. I hope he's not a jerk and I hope the date isn't boring." He managed a small smile before turning to head away.

"Thanks," she called after him, "and I'll text you if I can't make it to patrol tonight."

"All right. If you can't, don't worry about it," he told her, lifting his hand in a wave.

"Rest!" She called once again then waved back before turning and rushing through the door to finish closing up.

Oliver made his way outside and over to his car, leaning against it for a moment and pulling out his cell phone. No new messages. He chewed the inside of his cheek, then slid into the driver's side, rubbing a hand over his face before he started the engine and headed toward the penthouse. Maybe just an hour nap.

* * *

It was a little past ten, Star City time when Clark dropped her off in the penthouse's balcony. She said her goodbyes quickly and he left in a hurry to help someone. The very positive side of Clark's superhearing and Lois' constant encouragement for him to not miss a save was that he never did stick around to talk for long, especially at night. And that was something Chloe had been welcoming lately.

She unlocked the door from the outside with her fingerprint and slipped inside quietly. The apartment was dark and silent and since it was already kind of late, she assumed Oliver was already out on patrol.

Sighing softly, she slipped out of her heels and started toward the office, where she spent pretty much all of her time these days, then paused when she noticed his sleeping form on the couch out of the corner of her eye. That was where _he_ spent most of his time while he was at home lately.

Her chest and stomach both clenched as she watched him but she held her breath not to make any noise that would wake him. Swallowing hard, she set her oversized purse on the floor and quietly walked up to him, pulling the folded blanket from the armchair and unfolding it before gently laying it on top of him, doing her best not to wake him up.

He mumbled her name under his breath, his eyebrows furrowing a little, breath hitching.

Chloe stilled, staring at him for a moment, but the second her eyes teared up, she backed away as quickly as possible while keeping quiet.

He started, flinching a little as he sat up, his heart pounding in his chest. He blinked rapidly and caught sight of her figure a few feet away, his eyebrows furrowing once more. "Chloe?" His voice was uncertain.

She held her breath and let it out slowly, trying not to make noise and she had never been so glad he had the habit of not bothering with turning on lights when he got home, "go back to sleep." She told him, proud of herself for keeping her voice neutral as she picked her purse back up, "I didn't mean to wake you."

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. "I didn't realize you'd be back tonight." His voice was rough from sleep. The whole place was dark. It had still been daylight when he'd left the community center. What the hell time was it?

With a deep breath, she dropped her hands to her sides, "I asked Clark to drop me off since I need to finish the article."

"Right," he murmured, slowly rising to his feet. He looked down at the blanket she'd apparently covered him with. "Thanks for...that."

"No problem," she answered automatically, "are you going out?"

He paused, looking down at the floor. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Clark was just here, if you want the night off. I'm sure he looked around." Chloe pointed out, digging through her purse for the recorder.

"I don't want to be in your way," he said simply.

Her stomach clenched once more at that but she shook her head, "I'll be in the office," she told him, "take the bed if you want to, I won't have time to sleep."

Oliver looked away from her, chewing the inside of his cheek. If only it was that simple. But it wasn't. It hadn't been for a long time now. He had no claim to that bed anymore. Not really. "Thanks," he said, not moving.

Chloe nodded a little, "goodnight," she told him, looking down at her purse and starting toward the office.

"Chloe, wait." He held his breath, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them.

She stilled, her heart skipping a beat, "I can't, Oliver. I'm on a deadline." She told him, glancing over her shoulder then making her way into the office.

His chest tightened as she walked away from him. He shut his eyes and then turned the opposite way, heading toward his secret room silently. They couldn't keep doing this much longer, that much he knew for sure. It was killing them both, even if neither of them wanted to admit it.

Tomorrow, he thought with a pang.

He'd deal with it tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

  


She hadn't slept at all. She hadn't planned on sleeping to begin with but she was glad that she had managed. Moving the coffee pot to the office was probably one of the only good decisions she'd made lately.

But because she'd been up all night, she also knew Oliver had never come home the night before and a single look at his secret room had just confirmed that. She finally made her way to the master bedroom around six thirty, it was already light out. She showered quickly and dried her hair then applied more make up than she usually did, something else she'd been doing more and more often since... and then she was back out to the office. Gathering her things quickly, she picked up her purse and started toward the door when something caught her eye and her stomach dropped.

With a glance out of the balcony, she saw Oliver, or more accurately, Green Arrow. He was sitting on the rooftop directly across the street, his head low, covered with his hood as he looked down. She could only guess he was watching the traffic below.

Chloe took a deep breath and dropped her purse over the couch then wrapped her arms around herself tightly in an useless attempt to ease the pain. She had come to terms with it by now, there was no easing it. No making it better. Not considering...

She sniffed quietly as she watched him. He was a safe enough distance from her that she knew she could cry without getting _those_ looks from him, without making it worse. But it was becoming harder and harder to keep it together in front of him, she thought she'd be numb enough by now, but she wasn't. Six months and she still wasn't. On top of it, she _missed_ him. So much. She missed everything they had, everything they _were_ , she missed everything they could have been. But she knew there was no getting it back so she tried to focus on something else.

On anything else.

And most of the time she managed. But not when she was around him. He had always had a way to touch her, to bring things out, to _get_ to her and this time it was no different. Except she couldn't let him. In a way, she was almost grateful he didn't seem to be trying, she knew he didn't really want to try and she didn't blame him.

She didn't want to try either. She was tired.

Which was why she kept busy, she pushed it aside and moved on as well as she could. Which was why she had to _move_ before he saw her.

And she did. Took a deep breath and rushed back to the bathroom, washed her face, reapplied her makeup and made her way out the door, this time without glancing toward the balcony or any of the windows that covered most of their living room walls.

She _was_ on a deadline and that was what she _needed_ to focus on.

* * *

Oliver stared out over the city, his expression devoid of emotion, even though he felt anything but. His chest was tight as he thought about what he was going to have to do today. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, glancing up as a chilly rain began to fall, hitting his bare arms and causing goosebumps to rise on his flesh. It was fitting, really. The weather suited his mood perfectly. He leaned against the railing once more, shutting his eyes.

He never thought this day would come. Not with Chloe. Not after everything they'd been through together. Not after they'd been through everything they had to _be_ together. He swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat. It just didn't feel real.

But it was.

And it was his fault.

He pushed his hood back and off his head, removing his night vision glasses and setting them down on the small table on the balcony. He drew in a shuddering breath as his eyes watered, mixing with the falling rain.

He'd do the right thing now. Even though it was going to hurt like hell. Even though it would kill him.

He was half-dead inside anyway. There was no reason to keep dragging Chloe down with him.

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face and slowly turned toward the sliding glass door, making his way inside silently and down the hall to the master bedroom. He pulled open the large closet there and held his breath as his gaze rested on his luggage.

He slowly picked up the suitcase off the shelf and set it down on the bed.

And then he began to pack.

* * *

It was a little after eight when Chloe made her way back home. Twelve plus hour days at the paper were not unusual for her, especially lately. It was her only real escape from everything. And it had been a productive day. She had handed in her article on the press conference and it had already been published online and would be included on the next morning's issue, front page; and she was already working on a follow-up piece.

She had also had a meeting with her editor and she told him about her past in Smallville and how she had known Lex personally even though he didn't remember her after his 'freaky accident' where he lost all of his memory a few years ago. So her editor has made her responsible for all Lex-related stories from now until the elections, which was a pretty big responsibility and sure to keep her busy for a while, so she accepted the offer right away.

And now she was absolutely exhausted, which meant she might actually get some sleep tonight. Dreamless, hopefully restful sleep for a change.

But the second she stepped out of the elevator and into the apartment, she stilled. There were two suitcases by the couch and her stomach clenched instantly, the numbness that came with the exhaustion leaving her instantly.

He sat silent on the sofa, not looking up when he heard her come in. He simply stared down at his hands, his elbows resting on his knees, the way he'd been sitting for most of the day. His shoulders were hunched, a defeated posture taking the place of what had once been one of utter confidence. But that was a long time ago.

Her eyes teared slightly as she looked over at him. She wanted to just walk past him, lock herself in the room and not acknowledge this. She wasn't sure she could deal with it. She didn't want to _think_ about it and she certainly didn't know what to say, so she just stared at him.

Feeling her eyes on him, he rose to his feet slowly, his back aching for having been sitting for so long. Drawing in a breath, he turned to face her.

Chloe stared at him, swallowing hard and reflexively crossing her arms over her chest, shielding herself.

His chest tightened as he looked back at her silently for a long moment, licking his lips. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Her jaw clenched tightly and she looked down, taking a deep breath and shaking her head, "I'm not staying."

"There's no reason for both of us to go. This is your home, Chloe."

"No, it's not." She said tightly, lifting her head to look at him again. He was. Without him, this place meant nothing to her. Not anymore.

Oliver flinched visibly and her response and he rubbed a hand over his face, falling silent once more and exhaling slowly. "Right," he whispered.

She hadn't even considered this until now, she had been feeling so... defeated. She didn't think it could get any worse, but she'd been proven wrong once more. Her stomach was tight and it was hard for her not to just break down, but she wasn't going to. She refused to. She wasn't going to stop him if this was what he wanted.

She was done fighting.

"I've uh...I've reserved a room at the Plaza," he murmured, dropping his gaze to the floor.

Chloe nodded slightly and looked down once more, shifting her arms so they were wrapped around herself. She couldn't look at him.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, swallowing hard. He wasn't sure why he felt so let down. He hadn't expected her to ask him to stay. Maybe he'd just been hoping for more of a reaction from her. But he should have known better. She probably would have preferred if he'd gone long ago. "Okay," he whispered, his chest painfully tight as he picked up one of the suitcases.

She saw him reaching for the suitcase out of the corner of her eyes and she wanted nothing more than to stop him, to wrap her arms around him and kiss him until he forgot all about leaving. She hadn't felt that urge in months. But she knew she couldn't do that and she didn't think she could stop herself if she stayed so she stepped to the side even as tears ran down her face and hurried toward the bedroom as fast as she could without running.

He shut his eyes, a tear trickling down his cheek as he picked up the other suitcase and headed silently for the door. He sniffed, then turned to look back inside the apartment, half expecting to find her standing there.

She wasn't.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, even though she wouldn't hear him. He swallowed convulsively, feeling sick to his stomach as he made his way out the door and down the hall toward the elevator.

He just wanted to get to the hotel and sleep for the rest of the night.

And maybe all day tomorrow, too.


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver stood staring out the large wall-to-ceiling windows in his office at Queen Industries. It had been two days since he'd left their apartment, two days since he'd seen her face. Two days since he'd slept at all. It wasn't that the hotel bed wasn't comfortable. It just wasn't _right_.

He raised the glass of whiskey to his mouth and took another long drink, draining it dry before moving to the mini bar across the room and pouring himself another glass, not looking up as the door swung open and someone stepped inside.

"Oliver," Dinah greeted once her eyes fell on his back, "looks like I got here at a good time."

Great.

He didn't turn to face her. "Something wrong?"

"No," she told him, "well, I don't know."

Oliver sighed softly, taking another drink. "Meaning what, exactly?" he asked, wishing she'd get to the point so she would leave already.

"Aren't you going to offer me a drink?" She asked, closing the door and walking to sit on one of the chairs by his desk.

"What's your poison?" he asked neutrally.

"Whiskey is your favorite, right? I'll have a glass."

He didn't respond to that, simply poured a second glass and left it on the bar, moving back over to the windows once more, his back remaining to her.

Dinah frowned at the glass and stood up, going to pick it up, "what is going on with you?"

"Long week," he said simply. "What brings you to Star City?"

"You," she told him, picking up the glass and turning to face him even though his back was still to her.

"Me?" He raised his eyebrows a little at that.

"You." She told him, walking up to the window to stand next to him, "you vanished, Oliver. Never returned my calls."

"I've been busy," he said, shrugging and taking another drink.

"Busy?" She asked, arching her eyebrows, "doing what? Hiding in here and drinking?"

Oliver's jaw tightened at that and he finally turned to look at her. "What do you _want_ , Dinah?"

Dinah's eyes narrowed and she looked back at him, "are you going back down your pathetic, self-pity, self-centered path again, Oliver?"

"Who said I ever left it in the first place?" he asked coolly.

She scoffed at him, "of course you haven't," she smirked a little, "no longer entertained enough, then?"

"Get out," he said, turning away from her.

"It figures," Dinah went on, stepping closer to him, "both of you vanished at the same time. Problems in paradise. Or I guess you can't call it paradise anymore. You look like hell."

"You have no idea what you're talking about." His jaw tightened again.

"Yes I do. I'm talking about how much of a selfish asshole you are," she said, "the team needs you, the others are actually _worried_ about you, but you can't be counted on. You never could. You're only around when it's convenient for you."

"Well, now you've told me. So run on back to Gotham and get the hell out of my city," he said harshly.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a leader." She told him. "The others might want to follow you, but I have my own team now and I feel _sorry_ for them."

Oliver turned to face her, his grip tightening on the glass so hard that it cracked as he glared at her. "I said _get out_ ," he whispered, his eyes dark.

She glared at him then lifted her glass, tossing the liquid on his face before placing it on the desk on her way out and slamming the door behind her.

He turned, hurling the glass at the door and watching as it shattered into a billion pieces on the floor. Just like his life.

* * *

Chloe hadn't left the apartment since he had. She had no reason to go to the Register, she already had her assignments and she had plenty of work to do. And she'd been doing, all of it. She had finished two columns and an article and she had been contacting everyone she had to. Everything had been proofread and all emails had been replied to. She hadn't moved from that chair since she woke up after crying herself to sleep.

She knew she had to pack her things, find another apartment and leave, but she didn't want to. Leaving would make it real and as long as she ignored her personal life and focused on work, she could pretend it wasn't.

She could pretend she hadn't failed him to the point where he couldn't even be around her anymore. To the point where he could barely _look_ at her. She could pretend she wasn't even thirty and had two failed marriages. She could pretend she hadn't broken his heart and destroyed his dreams.

And it wouldn't last her long and she knew it, but she would pretend while she could.

At that moment there was a knock on the door, followed by, "Ollie? Chloe? It's Mia."

Chloe stilled first at the door, for a second, she thought it might be him, but then she heard Mia's voice and she wasn't sure if she should answer or hide and hope she would leave without seeing her.

"I lost my keys to my apartment," Mia called. "The super's on vacation and I have a date in an _hour_."

She sighed deeply and shook her head, rubbing her hands over her face and wrapping her sweater around herself tightly as she stood up, her legs protesting the sudden movement, but it didn't stop her, "my keys are over the counter," she called after Mia. She should just hand her her copy of the girl's keys anyway. She wouldn't be using them again.

"You're awesome." Mia popped her head into the office and grinned brightly.

Chloe stilled when she suddenly showed up then nodded a little and arched her eyebrows, "go ahead and grab it," she told her, forcing a smile before turning to her chair once more.

The younger girl's smile slipped a little. "Are you all right? You look as bad as Ollie."

Her stomach turned and she was glad she had her back to Mia as she sat down. She hadn't seen her in a long time, but it had always been easy enough to hide things from her, they weren't as close, at least not anymore. "Yeah, just have a lot of work to do."

Mia was silent for a moment, studying her. "You guys should take a vacation. You're both working too hard."

She glanced over her shoulder then turned back to the monitor. She was normally a good enough liar, but she was so tired she just wanted her to leave. "Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way."

"Maybe it should," she murmured, looking down for a moment. "Thanks for the spare key."

"No problem," she said, this time without looking at her, her chest and stomach tight because she knew it just didn't work that way. Not for her. Not for them. No break would ever change things. "Have fun on your date."

Mia pursed her lips, staring at Chloe for a moment longer. "We should get together for lunch soon." She turned and headed down the hallway, frowning softly as she found her key and headed for the door. Something was going on. Something bad.

Her chest tightened and she waited until the door was closed once more before getting up and heading to the bedroom. He had someone to look after him. Someone he loved and someone who was good for him. Mia was like a _child_ to him and that was what he needed now. 

And she couldn't be there anymore and get in the way of their lives. She should leave and disappear again. She never should have come back in the first place, but at least now she knew he wouldn't be looking for her.

* * *

Oliver dribbled the basketball a few times before taking aim and sinking it into the net from several feet away. He didn't bother to retrieve it, watching instead as it bounced a few times and rolled off to the side of the otherwise empty court.

Mia picked it up and tossed it toward him once more.

He blinked, catching it just in time and raising his eyebrows. "We need to put a bell around your neck."

"Learned to sneak up on people from the best," she pointed out, smirking a little.

"I didn't realize you and Clark were training," he responded, smirking faintly, and taking aim at the hoop once more, this time missing it.

Mia frowned and caught it before it could hit the ground, "okay, now I _know_ something is off. You never miss."

Showed how much she knew. He missed a lot. A _hell_ of a lot. "I'm just a guy, Mia."

"Your aim is perfect," she told him, throwing the ball back at him and arching her eyebrows.

He caught it once more, dribbling it again and throwing it up in the air, watching it sink into the net.

Mia sighed softly and caught the ball for the third time but kept it. "Also, I just saw Chloe."

At that, he turned toward her, his heart skipping a beat. "Where?"

"The penthouse," Mia told him, bouncing the ball as she started toward him. She had called her date and cancelled on him, or at least delayed it. Oliver and Chloe were the closest thing she'd ever had to a _decent_ family and they were her priority. No matter how hot her date was.

"How did she seem? Was she all right?" His chest tightened.

"About as 'all right' as you seem," she told him, "what's going on, Ollie? You both look horrible."

Oliver held his breath for a moment, then reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I think it's over," he whispered.

"Over!?" Mia gasped and shook her head, "what do you mean, over? It's you and Chloe, it can't be 'over'."

"It's complicated, Mia." He exhaled slowly, his shoulders dropping as he moved over to sit on the bleachers.

"It can't be _that_ complicated," she said, her eyes wide as she followed him, "you guys love each other." It wasn't a question.

He shut his eyes. "That was never a problem."

"Then anything else you can figure out, right?" She told him, sitting down next to him and setting the basketball between them.

"I'm not so sure," he admitted quietly, opening his eyes and looking down at his hands. "Sometimes...things are too broken to be fixed."

"That's not true," she said firmly, "that's not what you told me when I said I couldn't be fixed and that's not what Chloe told me either."

"That's different," Oliver said softly.

"It's not different," she told him, standing up, "unless you want it to be."

"I let her down, Mia."

"Then you apologize and you work things out," she said, almost pleadingly, "it's you and Chloe, Ollie. It can't be that bad."

He rubbed his hands over his face. "I've already apologized." He'd apologized so many times, he'd lost track of how many times he'd said the words. It hadn't been enough. It could _never_ be enough to make up for what he'd done.

"So apologize again. You can't just... let it go. And she never let anything go either." Mia tried.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Maybe it's what she wants."

"You think it is?" She frowned.

"Maybe," he whispered, looking down at his hands once more.

"So you don't even know for sure and you're gonna let it end because of a 'maybe'?" She asked in disbelief.

He lifted his gaze to look at her silently, lump forming in his throat.

"You owe her better than that," she told him, holding his gaze, "you owe _yourself_ better than that."

Oliver held his breath at her words. "And what if I'm right?"

Mia shrugged a little, not believing that he was for even a second, "then at least you'll know for sure."

He nodded slightly, looking down again. "All right."

She looked at him for a moment and kicked his shoe lightly, "go fix it."

Oliver tried to smile. He wanted to reassure her that she was right. That he'd just go talk to Chloe again, apologize again, try to get her to open up to him and work things out between them. He just didn't have it in him to do it. Not when he couldn't believe it himself.


	5. Chapter 5

  


It didn't take her all that long to pack. She wouldn't need much, she could always buy more with the fake accounts, credit cards and whatever else that she would be getting herself later. When she could think more clearly.

For now, she just needed some clothes, the fake IDs she had just finished printing and her laptop.

She didn't even bother picking up any of her _real_ documents from the filing cabinet they kept them in. She didn't want to touch them now and bring back feelings and memories, not when she felt like she was finally managing to shut them all down. Besides, she wouldn't be needing them and if she did, she could just recreate them from scratch once again.

Chloe had no idea where she was going yet. Her plan went as far as leaving the penthouse and getting in her car, anything else would come eventually.

This time, she wasn't running _for_ something. She had no purpose, no goals, no plans. Nothing. She was just leaving all of that behind. It was all pointless as she had been taught time and again but she'd been too goddamn stubborn to learn that plans always let her down.

But she'd learned it this time, and for once to prove her right, just as she slid the suitcase in her trunk and locked it, she heard a terrified scream and her stomach dropped.

"No..." she murmured, her chest tightening as she closed her eyes.

The woman screamed again and she took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face, shaking her head a little. "I can't help you." Chloe murmured.

But as the pleas and panicked screams became louder and more frequent, she found herself running in the direction of the sound, her heart beating fast against her chest as she rounded the corner into a narrow street before turning into an alley she knew was there. She couldn't think, but it was hard not to as memories came rushing to her. The very memories she'd been trying to block out and ignore all along.

Her vision was blurred by tears and she knew this was a terrible idea. Just like the last time. But once more, she had no choice but to keep going. She couldn't run away and leave, regardless of what happened. Regardless of who died.

In a quick move, she turned sideways and lifted her leg high, kicking one of the attackers against the middle of his back. She was unarmed, unprepared and she hadn't done this in a long time, but again, she had no other choice. And she wouldn't hope that help would come because she had to use whatever little focus she still had in her to fight and to save this woman's life.

She'd done enough hoping and it hadn't gotten her anywhere, anyway.

Another move and she shifted closer, punching the same guy in the back of his neck and sending him to the ground instantly. She didn't know how many there were, she was trying to make sense of her surroundings but she couldn't see as well as she normally would have. And once more, she couldn't focus.

But it didn't take her more than a moment to have a second man grab her from behind. He was talking to her, but she wasn't paying attention to his words. She looked around and located the woman who had been screaming. She was on the floor, her shirt seemed to have been ripped open and that was enough for Chloe.

She fought the second attacker; elbow to his stomach, heel to his foot, fist to his nose. He was bleeding, he was dizzy but that was far from enough to take him down, which seemed to be her luck, if she still believed in that.

Two more men appeared and made their way toward her. She leaned back against the man who had a hold on her throat and waist still and pushed herself up. Her right foot connected with the man on the right's jaw as her left one hit the other man on the ribs.

All she'd managed with this was probably to piss all of them off, but maybe it would give the woman who was being attacked enough time to run and be safe. That was the only thing that actually mattered.

He was about a block away when he heard the screams for help. He wasn't dressed in his Green Arrow uniform, he didn't have his compound bow on him--he'd just been walking and making his way toward the penthouse, to try and talk to Chloe, if she'd let him.

But that was going to have to wait, because once again, someone else needed his help. And that was who he was. Even if he always failed when it counted the most.

He took off in a dead run toward the alley, hearing a scuffle as he got closer. There were five men in total, two women, one of whom he caught sight of on the ground, frantically trying to button the torn shirt she was wearing.

The other was a blond, apparently fighting back against all five of their attackers.

He moved quickly, grabbing hold of the man closest to him and slamming him into the brick wall, punching his nose and smirking darkly as he felt it shatter beneath his knuckles, blood spurting as the guy fell to the pavement.

Chloe didn't know what was going on, but the grip the man had on her neck loosened considerably and she took the opportunity to pull away, turn around and punch him in the stomach, then throw another punch against his jaw.

That left her with her back to the two others and just she was about to turn and face them again, something hit her hard against her back and she gasped, bending forward.

Oliver's eyes widened as he saw the man kick the blond hard in the back and he grabbed a fistful of the man's hair, yanking him backwards. "You like to hurt women?" he demanded.

She stilled when she heard the voice, _his_ voice and turned around, eyes widening when she saw him. She hadn't seen him in over two days but it felt like so much longer than that. But a moment later, she was being pulled backwards again and there was an arm pressed against her throat once more.

He shoved the man up against the brick wall before he found himself being yanked backwards and a fist was flying into his gut. He doubled over for a moment, then dove at the man's legs, tackling him to the ground.

Chloe blinked a couple of times then shook her head, focusing on breathing and fighting rather than on the fact that Oliver was there. The guy who had his hold on her now wasn't much bigger than she was, so she pushed herself back as hard as she could, causing him to lose his balance and stumble backwards until he hit the alley's wall. She turned around and grabbed his hair, hitting his head back against the bricks hard enough to knock him out.

The other two men descended upon her almost instantly. "Yeah, I like it when they fight back," one of them taunted, grabbing hold of her hair.

Oliver moved off the man he'd just knocked out, catching a glimpse of a familiar green leather jacket as the blond struggled against her attackers. For a full five seconds he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. It _couldn't_ be. Anger sliced through him like a blade and he grabbed one of the two men, punching him hard in the face.

She took a deep breath as he fell to the floor then turned around just in time to see Oliver taking down another one of them, "run," she told the woman, who had pulled herself up and tugged her shirt closed. Then she turned toward the last man that was still standing, he was making his way toward Oliver so she didn't hesitate before running toward him and jumping on his back then wrapping her arm around his neck tightly.

He turned in time to see his wife jumping on the last man's back. He met her eyes for a brief moment, not noticing as the man pulled a switchblade from his belt.

Chloe held his gaze back, her grip on the man's neck loosening as her heart skipped a beat and next thing she knew, he was pushing her off his back and her head was hitting the floor.

His eyes widened and he moved closer to the man, shoving him. "Chloe! Are you all right?"

She blinked her eyes open and stared up at him, as she started to sit up, she saw the other man coming behind her husband and her eyes widened, "watch out!"

At her warning, the man hurried up and lifted his knife then pressed it to Oliver's side hard without hesitation.

Pain ripped through him but he used the adrenaline surge to slam the man up against the brick wall, wrapping his hands around the man's throat, gritting his teeth, willing him to pass out quickly. He wouldn't let her down again. This time he'd save her.

She pushed herself up quickly and rushed to his side, her heart racing as she saw the man's eyes rolling back and his body going limp. She quickly lifted her hands to Oliver's arms and tugged on them, "stop."

Oliver let out a shuddering breath, reluctantly loosening his grip on the man's neck and turning in time to see the man who'd been approaching him from behind glaring at them, hands curled into fists. "Walk away," he ordered.

Chloe turned to look at the other man, taking a deep breath as he turned around and ran. There were five men, normally it would have been easy for them to take them all down before they could lay a finger on either one. But they weren't at their 'normal' anymore. She dropped her hands from him and took a deep breath, "you're hurt."

He looked down at the knife still lodged into his side and grabbed the handle with both hands, grimacing as he pulled it out, a soft gasp escaping him as he dropped the blade to the ground, blood pouring from the wound and soaking his shirt and jeans. "That's probably not good," he mumbled.

She inhaled deeply and stepped closer, wrapping an arm around him and looking up at him when she saw the blood gushing from his side, "come on."

"I don't think I'm going anywhere," he said tiredly, leaning against her heavily as his body sagged.

"No," she said firmly, shaking her head, "come on, walk with me. We're close."

He shook his head a little, too. "Not close enough." He leaned back against the wall, pressing a hand to the wound in his side and shutting his eyes tightly.

Chloe's eyes teared up and she shook her head, tightening her hold on him before taking a deep breath and looking up, "Clark!"

He slid down the wall slowly, letting out a shuddering breath. "Must be busy, Gorgeous," he whispered.

"Don't," she pleaded, sliding down with him, refusing to let go, "don't give up." She whispered back then took a deep breath again, "Clark!" She called, her voice shaking.

"Not giving up...just need to...rest," he murmured.

"Help me get you home," she asked him quietly, shifting and trying to pull him up, tears running down her face, "please, Ollie."

"Sorry I keep...letting you down," he whispered, opening his eyes to looks at her, his eyes glassy.

She shook her head again and stood up, hooking her arms under his shoulders as she tried to pull him up, "stop talking, just, use your energy to stand up. Come on."

Oliver grimaced as pain shot through him and he wound his arms around her waist, gasping as he forced himself to his feet once more.

Chloe wrapped her arms tightly around him instantly and nodded, taking a deep breath, "lean on me," she whispered then started walking backwards slowly.

He did as instructed, using every ounce of energy he had to keep standing, to keep moving as she led him out of the alley and around the corner. "Forgot," he whispered.

She was glad it was later at night and that there was no traffic downtown as she pulled him across the street, toward their building, "what did you forget?" She asked quietly, trying to distract him from the pain he was undoubtedly in.

"How strong you are," he murmured, gasping for breath.

Her jaw clenched and she shook her head slightly, "I'm not. You are. We're almost there."

"Solid." He followed her into the lobby of the building, and then onto the elevator, leaning heavily against the wall even as his arms remained around her waist.

Chloe swallowed hard and reached to press the button to the top floor then pressed her thumb on the pad for finger print authentication. "Almost there," she whispered to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him once more even as her knees began to tremble, wanting to give under the weight.

He dropped his head forward, onto her shoulder, inhaling as best he could. "Missed you," he whispered, his mouth moving against her skin.

She shivered and closed her eyes as they teared up again, her stomach tight, "I'm sorry," she whispered back, turning her face and pressing it against his neck.

"Me too." He swallowed hard, his arms tightening around her a little. "I'm _so_ sorry."

"You did nothing wrong," she whispered to him, sniffing quietly, "it was my fault."

"No," he whispered back, shaking his head. The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival at the floor.

"Come," she murmured, lifting her head and taking a deep breath as she backed out of the elevator.

Oliver followed her slowly, feeling exhausted and weak as she led him inside the apartment. When they made it to the couch, he reluctantly let go of her so he wouldn't pull her with him when he dropped down onto the cushions.

She pushed the pillows out of the way quickly and helped him lay down before reaching for his feet and pulling them up on the couch too. "Don't move."

He shuddered involuntarily, his eyes drooping shut as he lay still on the sofa. "'kay."

Chloe took a deep breath and looked at him for a second then rushed down the hallway, coming back moments later with the first aid kit and towels then kneeling next to him, "are you still with me?"

Oliver licked his lips, turning his head towards her without opening his eyes. "Never wanted to be...anywhere else," he whispered, his voice strained.

Her chest clenched and she shook her head slightly, reaching for his shirt, which was now covered in blood, and pushing it up. She didn't want to talk to him about it, not now, but she knew she had to keep him awake, "neither did I." She admitted.

He coughed, grimacing with pain, his muscles tensing involuntarily. "No?"

She glanced up at him and lifted a hand to his hair as he coughed, the blood wasn't dark and it wasn't gushing out anymore, so she knew he would be okay, which helped her. "No. And I'm so sorry I let you down like I did." She added, looking back down at the cut, it was deep, but not wide, so she started to clean it slowly with a wet towel.

He hissed, gritting his teeth and slamming his eyes shut once more. "You didn't," he whispered.

"Yes, I did." She said firmly, "which is why I can't blame you for not wanting to stay."

"Thought it would be easier for you if I wasn't around." He shuddered as the towel scraped against his skin, feeling more like sandpaper than cloth.

Chloe held her breath at that and looked up at him, shaking her head slightly, "there is no easier." She said tiredly, looking back down at the wound.

"Sorry I wasn't here," he whispered.

Her stomach turned and she shook her head, "I shouldn't have gone." She said quietly, sitting on her heels and picking up the needle, "you told me not to. I didn't listen."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yes. It was." She said firmly, looking down and taking a deep breath to stop her hands from trembling before slowly starting to stitch him up.

He bit down hard on his tongue, then exhaled slowly. "I should have gone with you."

Chloe didn't say anything. She knew she couldn't without getting emotional and she didn't want to hurt him even more. So she stitched him up the rest of the way without a word, not even looking away from the cut until she was done.

With a deep breath, she picked up a clean towel and started to disinfect the cut once more, "there was nothing you could have done." She said finally, "it was my fault, Oliver and I don't blame anyone but myself."

He reached out and stilled her hand, his wrapping lightly around her wrist.

She paused and looked down at his fingers, her eyes going to the wedding ring he was still wearing and her face crumbled. Pursing her lips together, she shook her head slightly, "don't tell me otherwise. I know you blame me too," she whispered, her voice strained.

"I've _never_ blamed you," he whispered back. "Never."

Holding her breath, she lifted her head slowly and looked at him then shook her head slightly, "you need to rest."

"Stay with me," he murmured, his fingers tightening just a little around her wrist.

Her chest tightened even more and she found herself nodding before she could say no. Or try to say no. "Just for tonight," she whispered, shifting until she was sitting on the carpet by the couch.

His eyes drifted shut once more, but he didn't let go of her hand even as he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

He woke up slowly hours later, feeling like he'd been asleep forever after being hit by a truck. Licking his lips, he opened his eyes, but couldn't settle himself with looking at any one thing too long. He was at home, that much he knew. When he realized there was a faint pressure on his hand, he looked to see the source of it, and held his breath for a moment as he saw Chloe's blond head resting against the sofa beside him, her eyes closed, and her hand wrapped around his. His eyebrows furrowed with confusion as he tried to remember what had happened that led them to this place.

When she felt him moving, she sat up instantly, her eyes opening wide as she looked up at him. She had tried her hardest not to fall asleep, but considering she hadn't slept any in two days, it looked like she wasn't successful.

"Hi," he whispered groggily, blinking a few times.

She looked at him and sat up a little, stretching slightly, "how are you feeling?"

"A little sore," he murmured, rubbing his free hand over his face.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, shifting, her body stiff from sitting on the floor for however many hours, "do you need anything?"

Oliver watched her, holding his breath for a moment. "Yes. One thing."

She looked at him for a moment and arched her eyebrows, watching him as she waited for him to tell her what it was, but the look on his face was making her incredibly unsettled.

"You," he whispered, his chest tight. "I need _you_."

Her face fell and she looked down, shaking her head a little, "you don't know what you're saying," she murmured. "This is what happens when I'm around, Oliver. I hurt you and I let you down."

"You saved my _life_. Again," he told her, grimacing as he struggled to sit up.

"Don't _move_ ," she told him, letting go of his hand and lifting her hand to his shoulder, "and I distracted you. He nearly killed you because of me."

"I was distracted because I was afraid that..." He swallowed hard.

"Afraid that what?" She asked, not that it mattered.

"That I was too late again." Oliver opened his eyes to look at her, guilt and pain in his expression.

"Oliver..." she shook her head a little and pulled her hand away, rubbing it over her face, her eyes tearing once more, "it wasn't your fault," she whispered, "I shouldn't have gone out, I shouldn't have fought back, I shouldn't have assumed everything was okay."

He winced, resting his hands on the sofa cushions and forcing himself into a sitting position. "Look at me."

Chloe took a deep breath, lifting her head slightly and looking up at him. He knew what had happened, she wished he would just... let it go and let her go because looking at him made it so much harder to forget.

His chest tightened painfully at the look on her face. "It _isn't_ your fault. We don't even know for sure if it was connected. It could just as easily have been a coincidence. It happens a lot." He shook his head. "I read about it."

She shook her head slightly and closed her eyes when her vision became blurred by tears once more, "regardless if it wasn't connected," she sniffed, "it was still my fault, Oliver. It was something _I_ did. It doesn't matter what it was, _I_ failed you. Both of you."

"No." His voice was intense and he reached down, cupping her chin in his hand. "It just wasn't time, Chloe. It wasn't anything you did or didn't do. It just wasn't _time_."

"If it wasn't time, I wouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first place," she said tightly.

Oliver flinched. "No."

"No what?" She asked, shaking her head as much as she could against his palms and looking down, "we were both ready, I had never seen you as happy before..." her voice wavered slightly and she took a deep breath, "everything felt _right_."

"But it wasn't. For whatever reason, it _wasn't_. And I hate it," he whispered. "I hate it as much as you do. But we can't change it."

"You can't pretend you don't blame me, Oliver." She said quietly, "you can barely stand to be around me anymore and I don't blame you," she whispered, "but I can't fix it."

He stared at her, eyes wide. "You've got it all wrong," he said just as quietly, shaking his head. "I thought you blamed _me_."

Chloe blinked a couple of times and shook her head, finally looking back up at him, "why would I blame you?" She asked, shocked. She had been the one who insisted on chasing a story down by where she knew all the worst names of Star City were, she was the one who hadn't listened to him, who hadn't accepted his help when he said he'd come with her. She'd been the one who had gotten into a fight and didn't even bother to go to the hospital to make sure their baby was okay.

"Because I didn't come with you. Because I went out patrolling instead. I went out to save other people even though I knew you were walking into danger alone. I ignored my instincts." He swallowed hard, his eyes watering. "I should have been there."

Her heart felt incredibly heavy, she watched him closely then took a deep breath, lifting her hands to his legs, "I didn't let you come," she whispered, "I _never_ blamed you. I never could have."

"And I never blamed _you_ ," he whispered back, resting his hands over hers. "God, Chloe. I _love_ you."

She swallowed hard and nodded slightly, wrapping her fingers around his, "I love you too."

"I think what we need is some time away," he whispered. "Just the two of us. Just you and me, alone, with no work and no distractions."

"How will that change anything?" She murmured, staring up at him. She didn't want to lose him, but she didn't know how to go back to what they were.

"Don't you want to try?" He squeezed her hands a little.

Chloe's chest clenched and nodded a little. How could she say no? She wanted nothing more than to fix things between them, it was the only thing she _could_ fix now.

It had been over six months since she'd lost their baby. If things had gone right, she would be three days away from the delivery date the doctor had initially given them. But things had gone incredibly wrong. The night after the fight she got herself into, she woke up in a lot of pain, and she'd known instantly that she was losing their child.

Things hadn't been the same since.

Ollie had rushed her to the hospital and she felt so guilty, so horribly guilty, she had barely even been able to look at him. She had seen how much pain he'd been in, _because_ of her, and she hadn't been able to stand it.

They had both fallen apart after that night and they had both pulled away. They barely even talked, they most certainly didn't talk about _it_. They hadn't told anyone, they had just... kept busy. Oliver with work, Green Arrow and the newly founded community center and Chloe with Register work. She didn't want to go anywhere near being Watchtower again, she hadn't for six months because if she couldn't even protect her family, how was she supposed to protect a stranger?

"I can't lose you," he whispered. "I can't." He gazed at her, swallowing hard as a tear trickled down his cheek. "I need you in my life. Let's go away somewhere. Focus on us. On getting back to where we were. Or at least figure out what we can do next."

She took a deep breath and looked up at him, tears running down her own cheek as she pulled a hand from his and wiped the tear from his face with the back of her fingers. "I need you too," she whispered, "I thought you... you had found a way to get better on your own. I didn't want to be in the way of it."

"I thought you'd be better off without me," he whispered, shaking his head.

She sighed deeply and shook her head too, shifting and getting on her knees so she could be closer to him, "I'd never be better without you."

"Me either," he admitted, touching her face.

Chloe held his gaze and nodded slightly, leaning into his touch than sighing, "God, Ollie..." she whispered, "how did we go six months like this?" They had both been in so much pain and they always leaned on each other so much for everything...

"I don't know." His eyes were sad as he gazed at her. "But I've missed you." He gently brushed away a stray tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"I've missed you too," she whispered to him, sniffing softly, her own eyes sad as she looked at him. She'd felt lost without him but knowing he _didn't_ blame her, even if she still blamed herself, it helped a little.

"Come here," he whispered, patting the cushion beside him.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked at him for a moment then slowly got up and moved to sit next to him on the couch, not bothering leaving any space between them.

He curled his arm around her instantly, pressing a soft kiss against the corner of her mouth.

She held her breath and closed her eyes, leaning closer to him as she wrapped her arm around his chest. High enough so it would be far from the injury.

He shut his eyes, as well, burying his face against her hair as he hugged her tightly to him. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered, pulling her feet up on the couch and curling up as close to him as possible as she started to cry, and for the first time in a very long time, it was out of relief.

* * *

When Chloe woke up again, she felt more rested than she had in as long as she could remember. She didn't know how long she'd slept for, but she and Oliver were on their bed, together. Arms and legs wrapped around each other as they kept as close as possible. That had been exactly how they had fallen asleep too, she guessed they had both been too exhausted to even move.

She felt more rested, but her chest was still tight. With a deep breath, she pulled her head back slightly and turned to look at him. She'd never seen him cry as much as he had before they fell asleep. They had both cried and she knew they needed it, but they were both so... tired, so broken, she couldn't help but wonder _if_ they could fix it.

He felt her move and his arm tightened instinctively around her waist, keeping his eyes shut for the time being. He pressed his lips against her shoulder, kissing her there softly.

Chloe held her breath and leaned her head in again, kissing his forehead softly.

"Is it morning already?" he murmured.

She sighed deeply and glanced over her shoulder to make sure then nodded slightly, "yeah."

"We're still here." His voice was quiet and he slowly blinked his eyes open.

Chloe looked back at him and took a deep breath, "we're back here," she whispered. They hadn't slept on the same bed since that night.

He shifted closer, wincing a little as the movement tugged at his stitches, but not caring. He lifted his hand to her cheek and leaned in, kissing her softly on the mouth.

She held her breath and kissed him back just as softly, pulling away after a moment and brushing her nose against his, "how are you feeling?"

"Sore," he admitted with a small smile. "But I'll be all right."

Pursing her lips together, she nodded slightly, lifting her hand to his cheek and touching it lightly with her fingertips.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked quietly, searching her eyes.

"I don't know," she said quietly, brushing her fingers against his skin and watching them instead of looking back at him.

Oliver tucked some hair behind her ear. "What if we rented a cabin somewhere in the mountains?"

Chloe held her breath at that and looked up at him, "with no one else around?" She whispered.

He nodded a little. "Just you and me," he whispered back.

She nodded slightly, her eyes tearing up just a little, "okay."

Oliver cupped her cheek gently. "We're gonna be okay."

Pursing her lips together, she leaned into his touch and let out a breath, nodding once more, "I told you you were the strong one."

He held his breath at that, shaking his head a little. "You are strong, Chloe. More so than anyone else I've ever met."

Chloe sighed softly and shook her head, looking down, "I don't feel it."

"I do." He kissed her knuckles.

She closed her eyes and brushed her fingers over whatever skin she could reach, "I was leaving."

He held his breath at that. "I left."

Her chest tightened and she opened her eyes again, looking up at him and swallowing hard before pulling her hand from his face and wrapping her arm tightly around him.

He pressed his face against her neck. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"I know," she whispered then shook her head slightly, "I am too." With a deep breath, she turned her head toward his, pressing her lips to it, "I just don't ever want it to happen again."

He tightened his arm around her. "Me either. I also don't ever want to sleep away from you again."

Chloe held her breath at that then nodded, "neither do I." They had almost lost each other several times before. Because of alien invasions, dangerous missions and so many things that most people didn't have to deal with, but somehow, almost losing each other because of _themselves_ was scarier than any of those things.

Oliver rested his forehead against hers, gently moving his hand up and down her spine. "We could be out of here by tonight."

She sighed softly, relaxing a little and nodded, "as soon as possible."

"Good." He shut his eyes, kissing her lightly.

She kissed him back just as lightly but wrapped her fingers around his shirt as she tightened her arm around him.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere," he murmured, brushing his nose against hers.

Chloe opened her eyes again and nodded a little, "neither am I," she whispered, "not without you."

Oliver relaxed a little at that. "I'll call Daniel and see how soon he can fly us out of here."

She nodded slightly and looked at him for a moment, "I'll call work and let them know I'll be out of town for a while." Her editor wouldn't like that, but she really didn't care.

"All right." He kissed her forehead before reluctantly pulling away from her to find his phone.

She took a deep breath and sat up too, rubbing her hands over her face and stretching before getting up.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, gazing at her back.

"Rested," she answered sincerely, looking at him, "you?"

A soft smile touched his mouth at that. "Good."

She watched him for a moment and tried for a smile, but didn't quite manage. She didn't want to pretend with him or shut him out or do anything that wasn't completely sincere, so she just nodded. "Good."

Oliver gazed at her for a long moment. "Why don't we get these calls out of the way, and I'll fix us some breakfast?" he suggested.

Chloe nodded a little and started to the bedroom door with him, "you should shower too," she said quietly, reaching for his hand and squeezing it.

Normally he would have cracked a joke, or at least teased her about the comment. But instead, he squeezed her hand in return. "I will."

She nodded a little and looked up at him, squeezing his hand once more before making her way to her office, she'd have to use the landline since her phone, purse and everything else were downstairs in the car.

He watched her go and exhaled slowly, rubbing his hands over his face. He knew it was going to take time and effort to sort things out between them, to get them back to anything resembling normal--or what had once been their version of it. But he wasn't going to let her go without a fight.


	7. Chapter 7

  


They got to the cabin Ollie had found in Colorado at around two in the morning. The drive from the airport had been long but they _were_ completely isolated and there was some peace to knowing that.

It was incredibly cold, and according to the radio they had listened to during the drive, they were supposed to be getting the first snow of the year that night. Living in Star City for five years now, Chloe couldn't remember the last time they had actually been anywhere near snow.

They pulled up to the cabin and Chloe helped Ollie carry all three of their suitcases into it. The one she'd have in the car back in Star City and the two they stopped by Ollie's hotel to pick up.

"How is your side feeling?" She asked as he closed the door behind them.

"All right," he assured her. There was a dull ache there, but it wasn't anything out of the norm for a stab wound. And if he thought about the fact that he knew that from multiple past experiences, he'd have to start questioning his own sanity.

She nodded slightly, glancing at him before walking over to the fireplace and starting it, luckily it had already been set up for them because she was definitely cold.

"Let me get that," he said softly, moving over to her side.

Her expression softened as she looked over at him, "I think one of us definitely has more experience with this than the other." It was as close to teasing him as she'd come so far, but it felt natural.

Oliver rested a hand at the small of her back. "If I tried hard enough I could do it rubbing two sticks together." He smiled faintly.

"And I thought Clark was the boy scout," she told him, picking up the lighter and starting the fire.

"Well, he can start fire with his eyes. Where's the challenge there?"

Chloe smiled slightly at that and nodded a little, turning to look at him, "fair point."

He held her gaze for a moment, then glanced toward the sofa. "I'm thinking we'll be warmer tonight if we sleep out here. The cabin will be warmer later and we can move to the bedroom."

She nodded slightly and glanced at the couch then back at him, "are you sure you'll be comfortable enough?"

Oliver almost pointed out that he'd been sleeping on sofas for nearly six months, but he offered her a small smile instead. "I'll be fine."

"Okay," she agreed quietly, pushing her shoes off then looking back up at him, "are you tired?"

"A little. Not too bad. How about you?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Same," she admitted, looking back at him and holding out her hand.

He reached out and took her hand without hesitation, lacing his fingers through hers.

She squeezed his hand and walked over to the couch, sitting down and tugging on his hand gently for him to join her.

Oliver sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her temple. The move was so familiar it almost hurt that it had been so long since he'd been able to do it.

Chloe sighed deeply and curled into him instantly, like she always did. Before everything happened, in the four and half years they were married, they had always done this when they sat down, it was just... comforting. Especially considering their lives and how few opportunities they had to actually sit down and enjoy each others' company.

"I missed this," he whispered, wrapping his other arm around her, as well.

She nodded slightly, wrapping her arm around him, "I did too," she whispered, "I didn't realize how much."

"Me either." He kissed the top of her head, then leaned his head against hers.

Closing her eyes, she sighed once more and relaxed a little, "I guess we still have issues with communication." Understatement of the year.

He nodded. "We'll work on it." He rubbed her arm gently.

"We will," she agreed, lifting her head and pressing a kiss to his jaw.

Oliver closed his eyes, threading a hand through her hair. "So you've been working on all the Lex coverage?" he murmured.

"Yeah," she whispered, sighing softly and brushing her nose over his cheek, "I told my editor I used to know him so he assigned it to me."

He nodded, barely able to resist the urge to turn and kiss her mouth. "And he was okay with you taking some time off?"

"I worked a lot in the past couple of days," she whispered to him, opening her eyes and pulling her head back enough to look up at him, "I sent him three articles so he should have enough to follow up the initial one for the next two weeks or so."

He met her eyes, nodding a little and lifting his hand to her cheek. "Good," he whispered, searching her eyes.

She held his gaze and her breath as she leaned into his touch, "how are things at the community center?"

"All right," he told her. "I left Mia in charge while we're away. It'll be fine."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly, "she'll do a good job."

He gazed at her intently. "I was on my way to come and talk to you last night."

"You were?" She frowned a little, surprised.

He nodded. "Mia basically gave me a kick in the ass and made me realize that I wasn't ready to give up on us."

Chloe held her breath at that and arched her eyebrows a little, "oh," she looked down and nodded slightly, "she came by, earlier yesterday. She's the reason I actually decided to start packing and leave."

He paused at that. "Why?" he asked curiously.

"Because I knew you'd have someone to take care of you," she told him quietly, "and I figured it was better if I left and she helped you get back on your feet without me around."

"It wouldn't have worked." His voice was quiet.

She sighed softly and pursed her lips together, "I was hoping it would. I just didn't want to see you like you were anymore."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, falling silent for a moment. "I don't think I could get on my feet again if you weren't in my life."

"I didn't think I could either," she admitted, "but I was going to vanish again, and I didn't think you would try to find me."

His chest tightened at that. "Oh, Chloe." His voice was barely audible. "Please don't ever do that." He shifted, pressing his face against her neck.

Her own chest clenched too and she shifted her arms, wrapping them around his neck and closing her eyes, "I won't," she promised, "I didn't _want_ to, I just... thought it would be the best thing for you."

He kissed her neck softly and hugged her tightly against him. "Like I thought it would be best for you if _I_ left," he murmured.

She shivered slightly and shifted closer to him, nodding, "how can we be so stupid?"

A soft chuckle escaped him. "We're both incredibly stubborn?"

"Yes," she sighed softly, "which is a good thing, but not with each other."

"Agreed." He stroked a hand up and down her back.

She took a deep breath and shifted, moving to sit on his lap, leaning her side against her uninjured side. "Good."

Oliver kissed her forehead, keeping his arms around her. "I love you."

"I love you," she whispered, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, "and... there is something I want to talk to you about."

"All right." He leaned back against the couch, waiting.

Chloe shifted slightly and took a deep breath, looking down as she tried to find the best way to word it, "I think... we should use protection. So it doesn't happen again."

He was silent for a long moment. "Oh," he said softly.

Her face fell at his expression and she curled up closer, "I don't think either of us can go through it again."

"No, I...I understand," he murmured, tightening his arms around her.

"I don't wanna risk it," she whispered, turning her face against his cheek, "not unless it's safe."

"Okay," he whispered, threading a hand through her hair.

Chloe sighed deeply and pulled her head back enough to look at him, she wondered if he remembered the day it was and how close they would be to it... but she didn't want to make it harder on him than it already was.

He gazed at her, his eyes sad. "When we're ready to talk about it, there are other options out there."

She took a deep breath and nodded slightly, looking down, feeling like she failed him once more, even if she knew he didn't blame her. "It's possible that... that it would work. I read about it too, but... there is always the possibility that it won't."

"I actually meant...adoption," he said softly.

"Oh," Chloe cocked her head a little, holding her breath, "you think... that would be better?"

"Well, it's not the same thing, but...there are a lot of kids out there who really need a good family." He smiled a little.

She took a deep breath and nodded a little, "I know," she said quietly, "and we do have Mia already, kind of."

He nodded, as well. "We do. But I was thinking about a baby," he admitted. "But not until we're ready."

Chloe nodded slightly and lifted a hand to his hair, running her fingers through it, "and we can talk to specialists and see if... how risky it would be if I got pregnant again."

Oliver held her gaze, rubbing his hand down her back. "We'll be okay as long as we have each other."

"Yeah..." she whispered, "this is a good start," she told him quietly, "but I do want us to be a family, Ollie."

"I know. And I want that, too," he whispered.

She shifted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him once more, "then we'll figure it out, right?"

"We will," he promised, kissing her cheek.

Chloe sighed softly and leaned against his lips, closing her eyes, "I love you." She repeated once more.

"Love you, too," he whispered.

She relaxed slightly and laid her head on his shoulder, "and I guess there are things we still have to work on between us before we plan anything else."

"And we'll get there. It'll just take time," he murmured, resting his head against hers.

"We have time," Chloe said quietly, brushing her nose against his jaw.

"We do," he agreed, shifting slightly and lying down on the couch, keeping his arms around her so she wouldn't fall.

She sighed soflty and adjusted next to him, reaching up to the arm of the couch and pulling a blanket then unfolding it and throwing it above both of them, "how long are we staying here for?"

"As long as we need to," he told her. "Or until you want to go somewhere else."

Chloe closed her eyes and snuggled against him, "if given the choice, I would never want to go anywhere else."

Oliver smiled faintly at that and rested his head against hers. "That works, too."

"Have you spoken with the team at all lately?" She asked quietly, opening her eyes and looking up at him.

He held his breath for a moment. "Dinah was in town."

"She was?" Chloe frowned, looking up at him.

He didn't quite meet her eyes. "Yeah. She came to see me at QI."

She shifted a little on the couch, pulling back so she could look better at him, "what happened?" She asked, knowing instantly from the look on his face that things weren't right.

Oliver paused, then exhaled. "I was drinking," he admitted. "Let's just say the conversation didn't go well."

Her chest tightened a little and she nodded a little, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he said sincerely.

"I'm still sorry you had to deal with her," she told him quietly, leaning in and brushing her nose against his, "on top of everything else you were already dealing with, Dinah isn't always an easy person to talk to."

"No, she's not," Oliver agreed, kissing her softly. "But she's not important."

"She's not," Chloe agreed, she knew Dinah had been working with another group in Gotham for over a year now anyway, "I was just wondering if anyone had noticed anything."

He exhaled slowly. "She came to the conclusion that we were having problems, but I don't have any doubts that she thinks it's because I've gone back to my old ways." She'd basically said as much.

"Well," she said quietly, "when we talk to the others again we will assure them it's not true if it comes to it."

He nodded a little. "Dinah's always been a bit of a fair-weather friend."

"And again, it doesn't matter," she told him quietly, "I don't think Lois and Clark realized anything was off when I was in Metropolis last week."

"Are you okay with keeping it that way?" He searched her eyes. "Because if you want to talk to Lois or Clark...I'm okay with that. You don't have to hold in this big secret for my sake."

"If you want to talk to someone, I don't mind it," she told him quietly, "but... I don't really want to do it myself."

"All right," he agreed without hesitation. "I just didn't want you to feel more cut off."

"I don't," she whispered, "I just think it's something we need to work through ourselves and eventually, if it comes up, that's fine, but there is nothing they can do and Lois will overreact and... I just think it will overwhelm us."

Oliver kissed her forehead. "There is one thing I've been thinking about."

"What is it?" She whispered, closing her eyes for a moment before looking up at him again.

"What do you think about a marriage counselor?" he asked quietly.

She paused and arched her eyebrows a little, "you think we need one?" She asked quietly, considering.

"I don't know," he admitted, watching her. "I'm open to the idea, if you think we need to."

"We can," she told him quietly, "but I guess we can wait and see how we feel when we get back home."

"Sounds like a good plan to me, Gorgeous."

Chloe smiled a little at that and took a deep breath, "thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. It's what I'm here for," he murmured, kissing the tip of her nose.

"We should just always remember that everything is easier to deal with when we're together," she said quietly, brushing her lips against his.

"I think we always knew it. We were just scared." His voice was soft.

"You're right," she whispered, looking up at him, "and I think we both learned."

"I think so, too." He tucked some hair behind her ear.

"And we'll be okay," she whispered, a little more hopeful than before. Being with him again for over twenty-four hours had already made her feel like she _could_ be hopeful again.

"I believe that with everything that I am," Oliver assured her, his thumb brushing lightly over her cheek.

She tightened her arm around him and nodded, holding his gaze, "then I do too."

Oliver kissed her softly.

Chloe kissed him back and shifted closer, deepening the kiss and relaxing.

"Let's get some rest," he murmured after the kiss ended.

"Yeah," she agreed, brushing her nose against his before shifting and turning her back to him then snuggling back against him. Even after all this time, it always amazed her how perfectly her body fit with his.

Oliver tightened his arm around her, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her neck. "Goodnight," he whispered.

She shivered slightly and linked her fingers with his, hugging his arm to her chest, "goodnight."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and laid his head down on the couch cushion, closing his eyes. Within moments he'd fallen fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Oliver squeezed Chloe's hand a little tighter as they walked down the hallway of the children's group home in Los Angeles, following the director. It had been months since they'd decided to work on their marriage, to re-connect, and it had worked. They were closer than ever. There was no more keeping silent or assuming they knew what the other was thinking when it came to important issues. If either of them was upset, they turned to the other for support. When things were going well, they would hole themselves up in their apartment and celebrate for hours. For the last several months they'd been exploring the option of adopting, and after filing a great deal of paperwork, the state of California had declared them fit to be parents, despite some hesitation because of Oliver's alter ego.

But now it seemed like things were finally going their way. Their home visits had all gone very well. And much to his surprise, they'd even managed to stay out of the media's eye for the time being.

He glanced sideways at Chloe as the director of the facility nodded toward the nursery door, folding her hands in front of her.

Chloe glanced at Ollie then stepped forward, her chest tightening as soon as she realized just how many babies were in the room. She had been hesitant to actually visit an orphanage, she didn't know how hard it would be to see all those kids there, kids that had been just... _abandoned_ by their parents. And some of them were so absolutely tiny, defenseless.

But she knew it was a step in the process. The very long process they had ahead of them. They had to meet the child, a child that could become theirs.

Her hand tightened around his and she took a deep breath.

"I'll give you a moment, I'll be in the next room," the director announced.

"Thank you," Oliver said, nodding a little and looking at his wife intently. "Are you sure you're okay with being here now?"

"Yeah," she breathed, looking over at him then turning to look at the babies, "we need to do this."

"Okay." He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist instead, then led her into the room. He held his breath as he glanced around, feeling a little overwhelmed about the number of infants in the room.

"I don't know where to start," she admitted quietly, looking up at him, "how are we supposed to pick one of them like we're shopping for something?"

Oliver shook his head a little. "I don't know," he said just as softly, meeting her eyes.

Chloe took a deep breath and leaned closer to him, closing her eyes for a moment then pursing her lips together as she looked up at him again, "how--" she paused when she heard a giggle behind them and turned to look at the source.

There was a little girl, half hiding behind one of the bassinets in the room, her blond curls bouncing a little as she held a pink teddy bear that was missing an eye to her chest and looked up at the two of them.

Oliver turned to look, as well, his expression softening at the sight. "Hi there," he said very softly.

Chloe glanced at Oliver and pursed her lips together, turning completely to face the little girl, "hello," she greeted too, smiling at her.

"Hi." She answered, pursing her lips together too, mimicking Chloe before stepping to the side, further behind the bassinet.

A small smile touched his mouth and he looked at his wife, and then back at the little girl, kneeling down on the floor but not getting any closer. "What's your name?"

"Annabelle," she whispered, cocking her head and looking from him to Chloe.

Chloe knelt down too and held her breath as the little girl turned to look at her, "that's a beautiful name."

She giggled and hid her face behind her bear, looking at them over its ears.

Oliver couldn't help but grin at her shyness. "I'm Oliver," he told her. "And this is Chloe."

"How old are you, Annabelle?" Chloe asked quietly, smiling at the little girl. She couldn't be older than four.

Annabelle paused and looked at her hand, lifting two fingers then shaking her head and pulling a third finger up with her other hand, struggling a little to hold on to her bear and show them how old she was at the same time.

"Wow. Three, huh?" He glanced at Chloe sideways, biting his lip and glancing back at the little girl, her brown eyes filled with curiosity as she regarded them.

"Does your bear have a name?" She asked the little girl, still smiling at her.

"Stawberry." She told them, mispronouncing the word, "he smells like it," she said, holding the bear out to them.

He reached out and carefully took the bear from her, smiling as he smelled it. "Yes, he does." He held it out to Chloe.

"He smells great," she smiled, holding the bear back out for her and watching as she held it tightly to her chest once more.

"Are you going to get a baby?" She asked, cocking her head a little.

Oliver held his breath for a moment. "Maybe. We're not sure yet," he told her gently.

"Why not?" Annabelle asked curiously.

"Well..." His eyebrows furrowed a little as he considered her question.

Chloe looked over at Oliver then smiled sadly at the little girl, "we need to see if one of them wants to come home with us," she told her.

"Oh." Annabelle frowned, clutching her bear tightly to her and chewing her lower lip.

Her chest tightened and she glanced at her husband then back at Annabelle, "do you like it here?"

Oliver reached out and rested his hand lightly on Chloe's back.

Annabelle shrugged a little, hiding behind the bear again.

Her eyes teared up instantly and she stood up, looking at Ollie once more before she took a step forward, "what's wrong?"

"Will you color with me?" The little girl looked at Chloe with big eyes.

Chloe nodded slightly and smiled softly at her, "of course."

Annabelle's eyes lit up and she held her hand out to Chloe, giving her a bright smile.

Oliver looked between them, a soft smile settling on his face. He had a feeling that this was a sign.

Chloe glanced over at Ollie, her stomach tightening a little when she saw the look on his face even as the little girl tugged on her hand and let her out of the room, "are you coming?"

"Yeah. Definitely," he said, nodding and following them down the hall.

* * *

Chloe grinned a little and high-fived Aaron, one of the kids at the community center that had just finished showing her his improved grades in his math class after some help from her. She hated math but she couldn't deny that she was decent at it, "awesome job," she told him, "you should go show Mia."

"Thanks, Chloe!" He grinned at her and took off to look for Mia excitedly.

"Not bad."

Cocking her head, Chloe turned around and frowned, arching her eyebrows a little when she saw who it was, "Dinah, what are you doing here?"

"I was in town. Thought I'd stop by." She raised an eyebrow at Chloe.

"Sure you were," she said but smiled, "anything I can help you with?"

"No. Like I said, curiosity got the best of me. I wondered what was taking up so much of Oliver's time these days." She glanced around.

"Well, Dinah, he does have two full time jobs and the center, not to mention, we do make sure we spend quality time with each other often, that doesn't leave him time for much else," she told her, keeping her voice casual.

The other woman paused at that, turning fully to regard Chloe. "I was under the impression that the two of you were...well, not spending much quality time together these days."

Chloe straightened and arched her eyebrows, "and what gave you that erroneous impression, Dinah?"

"Oliver, actually," she said evenly.

"I appreciate your concern for my husband's well being but I can assure you, there isn't a problem." She never really had an opinion about Dinah before, it wasn't until Ollie finally told her everything the other woman had told him during her last visit that Chloe started to dislike her.

She cocked her head to the side. "Well. I'm glad to hear it." She didn't sound terribly sincere, but she looked around the room at all of the children.

Chloe kept her eyes on the other woman for a moment then arched her eyebrows, "would you like a tour? We built the place about a year ago and we're already expanding it, so you'll have to excuse the construction area behind the basketball court."

Dinah glanced at Chloe once more. "That's okay. I think I've seen enough."

"You seem disappointed," she couldn't help herself.

"What would I be disappointed about?"

"You tell me."

A faint smirk touched Dinah's lips. "Well, you're the one who suggested it, Chloe. I figured you had a reason."

"I assume it might have something to do with the fact my husband isn't available," she said with a smirk right back at her, "and if that is the case, I suggest you go prey on someone else because I don't plan on letting him go anytime soon. Or ever."

Dinah's eyes narrowed a little, but then she smirked again. "Please. Oliver's a little too damaged for _me_. I can do better. So keep him." She turned to head for the door.

"I heard you have your own team," Chloe called, arching her eyebrows, "it might be a good idea if you stick to taking care of their lives and leave ours to ourselves."

"Why? Are you worried the others may change teams, too?"

Chloe smiled at that and shook her head, "absolutely not, you're the only one who didn't seem _satisfied_."

"Yes, well. I prioritized. Saving the world was a little more important than settling for marriage and kids."

"Yeah, well, fortunately for us and our upcoming family, Ollie and I are extremely good at multi-tasking. We can manage it."

"I guess we'll see," she responded skeptically, heading for the door once again.

"Have a good life, Dinah. I know we will." She called, watching as she walked away.

Oliver leaned against the wall beside his wife. "Damn right we will."

Chloe arched her eyebrows and smiled, turning to see Oliver standing there, "always pleasant isn't she?"

He smirked. "I gotta be honest here. I'm not sad to see her on a different team. I never have been."

She grinned softly and walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "secretly? I think this is a weakest link scenario."

He wound his arms around her waist. "I've been holding a grudge against her for a long time," he confessed.

She cocked her head a little and looked up at him, surprised, "you have?"

"When you came back and she didn't trust you," he told her quietly. "After everything you'd done for me. For the team in general. I've never been able to look at her the same way."

Chloe shrugged a shoulder and shook her head, "she doesn't have the same kind of faith that you and I do on each other and on the boys. And while she's a good fighter, she was never great at team work."

"No, she wasn't," he agreed, nodding and dipping his head to capture her lips in a soft kiss.

She kissed him back then pulled away and smiled at him, "did you hear anything from the lawyer?"

"Everything's going smoothly," he told her with a soft smile. "With any luck we'll know more by the end of the week."

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, "did you ask if we could go see her again this weekend?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem," Oliver assured her, kissing her forehead. "In fact, they said that as long as the caseworker's with us, we can take her on an outing."

"Oh," Chloe brightened, looking up at him and smiling, "we should, do we have to let them know about it in advance?"

"Yeah, but not too much in advance. We can call in tomorrow and let them know." He grinned at the expression on her face.

"Okay," she grinned softly, tightening her arms around him, "I can't believe we're actually doing this."

"Me either." He kissed her forehead. "You seem really happy."

"I am," she told him, "I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but it feels right," and it had the previous time too, but if something went wrong this time, it would probably be fixable.

"Yeah, it does," he agreed softly, tightening his hold on her just a little. They'd been visiting Annabelle at the orphanage every weekend since they'd first met her. And by the end of their coloring session together that first day, Oliver had known that this little girl belonged with them. And he knew that Chloe felt it, too.

"Lois and Clark are coming to dinner on Friday so we can tell them." She told him, "if we're not careful, Lois will demand to come with us on Saturday to meet her."

"Well, we could always tell her it's just for the potential parents," he pointed out.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded, "yeah, she'll have time to get to know her when she moves home."

He leaned his forehead against hers. "Yeah, she will."

She brushed her nose against his and smiled softly, "are you happy?"

"Extremely," he whispered. "I'm thinking about taking you home to show you how happy I am in private," he teased.

She smiled and tightened her arms around him, "I think you should, I would love to know in details."

Oliver kissed the corner of her mouth lightly. "Let me go tell Mia we're heading out for the evening."

"I'll go grab my things," she told him, kissing his cheek before pulling away.

"All right." He watched as she headed away, a content smile on his face. He marveled at how different things were between them, yet how much the same they were at the same time.


	9. Chapter 9

  
  


Chloe was happy that Lois and Clark were able to make it for dinner, but she was also nervous. The two of them knew nothing about the miscarriage or about the now seven week long adoption process they'd been working on, and while the dinner was meant to tell them about it, she had the feeling that eventually she would have to tell her cousin at least about what they went through a few months ago.

But she would see how that played out after tonight.

She finished getting dressed and made her way out to the kitchen, Ollie had insisted on cooking and he had prepared her favorite dish of his: lasagna. She knew Clark and Lois liked it too so it had been an obvious choice.

"How is the lasagna going?" She asked, smiling at her husband.

"The lasagna is right on schedule," he told her, turning to face her and pausing, holding his breath for a moment. "Wow."

Chloe grinned softly and arched her eyebrows, she was wearing a green dress but it was just a sun dress since it was getting warm again in Star City, nothing special, "it's just a dress, Ollie."

He shook his head just a little, not taking his eyes off her. "It's the woman _wearing_ the dress."

She cocked her head a little, "you see me every day," she teased, "and night."

"And you always take my breath away," he informed her, moving toward her.

"It's mutual," she told him, taking his hands once he was close enough.

He grinned. "Well, we are awfully adorable blonds."

"It is, and soon we will have a third adorable blond added to the family," she said excitedly, squeezing his hand.

His smile brightened even more at that. "Just a couple weeks more to go." They'd received a call that morning telling them that the go-ahead for their plan to adopt Annabelle was granted. In just a couple of weeks the little girl would be Annabelle Queen.

She took a deep breath and nodded, pulling his arms around her back as she still held on to his hands, "we have a lot to do before she gets here."

"Yeah, we do," he agreed, considering for a moment. "What do you think about either buying a house or moving into the mansion?"

Chloe considered for a moment, "can we do that in two weeks? Or did you mean down the line?"

"As something to think about," he assured her. "Now that we're expanding." His eyes were filled with warmth.

"I think we'll need to stay here for a while, let her get used to it, to us and make her feel at home," she told him quietly. "But maybe we can consider in a couple of years or so."

Oliver nodded slightly in agreement. "Sounds like a good plan to me. I'll start working on the guest room across from ours for her room. Unless you'd rather use one of the others?"

"Well, I do want her close, but I don't want to worry about us waking her," she told him quietly, arching her eyebrows.

He paused. "Good point."

"Maybe the one down from it?" She told him, "I'm bugging the room anyway so Watchtower will pick up anything weird and we will be able to hear her if she moves around or starts to cry."

Oliver's expression softened a little. "Yeah, that's a good idea. And maybe we can soundproof _our_ room."

Chloe nodded and smiled at him, "yeah, maybe we should work on that."

He kissed her softly, pulling away when he heard a knock on the door. "And that would be our dinner guests."

She blinked, surprised at the knock, "I'm shocked they didn't just use the balcony," she told him, walking over to the door.

"We were going to but we didn't want to interrupt," Clark called from the other side of it.

Oliver couldn't help but smirk at that. "Appreciated," he called back.

"Come on! I have to pee!" Lois complained.

Chloe grinned and opened the door, arching her eyebrows at her cousin, "it took you less than five minutes to get here, didn't the general teach you to go before you leave?"

She smirked at Chloe and hugged her tightly as soon as she stepped inside the apartment. "Do you know how much coffee I've had to drink today?"

Clark smiled and shook his head as he stepped into the apartment after Lois.

Smirking back, Chloe hugged her tightly too, "I have a pretty good idea."

Oliver greeted the couple with a grin, shaking Clark's hand and hugging Lois. "You know, if you guys want, I can call a pastor in here and you could finally do the marriage thing." He smirked, raising his eyebrows. It was something they always joked about when Clark and Lois came to visit, or vice versa.

Clark smiled and shook his head, "we have plans to try again soon."

Chloe stepped up to him and hugged him, "you better, this whole living in sin thing is making my cousin look like a horrible role model."

Lois raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly am I supposed to be acting as a role model for anyway? You're all grown up and Lucy never attempted to imitate me in the first place."

"The world, Lois," Chloe said matter of factly and smirked at her cousin.

"Please. The world has much better role models to look up to." She looked at Clark, her eyes filled with warmth.

Clark smiled at her and adjusted his glasses.

Chloe just smirked and shook her head a little, glancing at her husband then at Clark, "I suppose he's decent enough." She teased.

Oliver grinned and moved up to stand behind Chloe, hugging her back against him and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Dinner's almost ready," he told the couple. "You guys want anything to drink while we wait?"

She lifted her hands to his arms and smiled "we have water and wine and... I think juice," she said, glancing at her husband.

"I'm okay with water," Clark told them, wrapping his arm around Lois' shoulders.

"Wine sounds good," Lois responded, leaning into Clark's hug and snaking an arm around his waist.

"One water and one wine." He kissed Chloe's cheek. "Want anything?"

"I'll have wine too, I'll come help you," she told him.

"I'll help," Clark offered, hugging Lois to his side before letting go.

"I'm gonna use the bathroom," Lois informed them with a smirk, heading away down the hall.

Chloe looked between them and shrugged a little, "I guess I'll sit and wait then," she told the boys, smiling at Ollie before making her way to the living room.

Oliver watched her go, a soft smile on his face. He glanced up at Clark and nodded toward the kitchen. "How've you been?" he asked, leading the way and moving to the fridge.

"Good," he nodded, sliding his hands in his pockets, "things haven't been too busy so I've been keeping a close eye on Lex..." his expression tensed a little at that, "how are you?"

He could tell from the other man's expression that he was growing more worried about that situation. "I'm good," he told him, handing him two bottles of water and pulling out the bottle of wine. "I take it things on the Lex front are more worrisome than ever?"

"He still doesn't remember any of us," Clark told him, shifting a little, "J'onn even looked inside his mind and he said there was nothing there from before, but if he wins the election..."

"Yeah." Oliver's expression was grim. "And by all accounts, he's ahead in the polls."

"I know," Clark sighed, "and there is nothing we can expose about what he has done without exposing ourselves."

He leaned back against the counter, considering. "People already know who I am. But I can't risk it at this point." His voice grew softer.

Clark frowned at that, "at this point?"

Oliver blinked a couple of times and looked up at him once more, a small smile touching his mouth. "Well, we may have had a slight ulterior motive for inviting you two to dinner tonight. But Chloe wants to be the one to tell you."

"Oh," Clark nodded a little, looking at Oliver for a moment before nodding, "okay."

"Don't worry. It's good news," he assured him, patting his arm before uncorking the bottle of wine and pouring two glasses of it.

He smiled a little and nodded, picking up his water glass and one of the wine glasses, "that's good."

He put the bottle of wine back in the fridge and picked up the other glasses, heading toward the living room.

Chloe looked up when she heard them coming back smiled before looking at her cousin who was sitting on the smaller couch, "guess they didn't have that much to gossip about after all."

Oliver smirked at her. "We can go back in there if _you_ want more time to gossip," he teased.

Lois leaned back against the couch. "Not with my drink, you don't." She held her hand out toward Clark, grinning.

"Unlike you two, we talk almost daily," Chloe pointed out.

Clark held out Lois' drink to her and sat down next to her, "we don't gossip."

Oliver sat down beside Chloe, handing her the glass of wine and draping his free arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple. "We talk shop. There's a difference."

"Uh huh," Lois responded, giving him a look.

"Thank you," Chloe told him and sipped on her glass. "And that's what we do too, right Lo?"

"Exactly."

"Chloe?" Clark looked at her with a worried expression.

"Yeah?" She asked, tensing at the look on his face.

"Should you be drinking that?" He frowned.

Oliver arched an eyebrow and looked at her wine glass, and then back at Clark, confused.

Chloe glanced at Ollie then lifted her glass, looking at it then back at him, "is something wrong with it?"

"You're not trying to poison my cousin, are you?" Lois asked Oliver, teasing.

Clark pursed his lips, shaking his head and looking at the couple worriedly.

"What's going on?" Oliver questioned, sitting up a little more.

"Clark, what is it?" She asked, sitting up and looking at him.

Clark looked at Oliver, a little panicked, "the thing you said Chloe wanted to tell us..."

He shook his head a little, looking completely lost as he stared back at Clark. "Yeah?"

"You shouldn't be drinking," he sighed, looking back at Chloe.

"You know what we're telling you?" She asked, "drinking has nothing to do with it."

"No, I didn't tell him. I just told him we had news." Oliver shook his head.

"News?" Lois echoed, narrowing her eyes. "What news?"

Chloe looked at Oliver then shook her head a little, looking from Clark to her cousin, "we're... adopting a child." She told them, looking back at Clark. "That's what we were going to tell you."

Clark blinked. "But what about..." His voice trailed off and his eyes widened as he realized they didn't know yet.

"What about what?" Oliver pressed, staring hard at Clark.

"Clark, what is going on?" Chloe pressed.

"Spill it, Smallville, what about what?" Lois said, sitting up too.

He hesitated. "There's another heartbeat," he admitted quietly.

"Another heartbeat?" Chloe gasped, "you mean..."

Oliver's eyes widened a little as realization dawned on him. He turned his head to stare at Chloe.

"You're _pregnant?_ " Lois rose to her feet, nearly spilling her wine.

Chloe stared back at Oliver, her eyes wide as she turned to put her glass down on the coffee table before standing up and looking at Clark, "are you _sure_?"

Clark nodded, shifting uncomfortably, "I can hear it."

Oliver stood as well, blinking rapidly, his expression stunned.

"You didn't know," Lois guessed, raising her eyebrows.

Chloe shook her head a little, swallowing hard and looking up at Ollie, her own heart beating fast as she looked back at Clark, "is it okay? Can you tell?"  
"It's strong and steady," he told her quietly.

Oliver held his breath at that, reaching out and sliding his fingers through Chloe's. "Wow."

She held on to his hand tightly and looked up at him, suddenly more than a little scared, "we should call the doctor and see if we can go in tomorrow morning before we drive down."

"I could call Emil," he suggested. "Clark or Bart could run him in tonight." He squeezed her hand.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe glanced over at Clark.

He finally stood up too and nodded, "I can go pick him up."

"Great. Thank you," he told the other man sincerely.

Clark nodded once more then made his way to the open balcony and flew out.

With a deep breath, Chloe willed herself to calm down and looked at Oliver again.

Oliver turned to her, momentarily forgetting Lois was still there. He cupped Chloe's face in his hands. "We're gonna be fine," he whispered.

Her eyes teared up a little and she looked down then back at him, "we'll do it right this time," she whispered back, trying reassure herself as much as him.

He wrapped his arms around her carefully, kissing the top of her head.

She sighed deeply and wrapped her arms around him too, closing her eyes.

"I'm sure you two will be fine," Lois said, frowning a little.

Oliver glanced up at Lois, offering her a small smile and nodding. "It's just unexpected."

"I noticed," she told him then raised a hand to Chloe's back, "congratulations."

Chloe took a deep breath and looked over at her cousin, "thanks, Lo." She said, managing a small smile.

A moment later, Clark arrived once more, setting Emil on his feet. 

"Sorry to basically kidnap you," Oliver told the other man, smiling faintly. 

"It's all right. Clark filled me in," Emil assured him, glancing back at Clark. "If you could just go back for the equipment I showed you?" 

Nodding, he flew off once more.

Chloe stood up straight and reluctantly pulled away from Ollie so she could face the doctor, "we just want to make sure everything is okay."

"Of course," he told her with a reassuring smile. "It won't take long."

"Thank you, Emil." She told him, smiling slightly then taking a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm for the baby's sake.

* * * 

Less than forty minutes later found the five of them around the dinner table, chowing down on Oliver's lasagna and garlic bread. After Emil had assured them that everything was all right with the baby--that Chloe was about eight weeks along--they'd invited him to stay and eat with them. It had been awhile since they'd all caught up with one another anyway. 

"Your husband is a good cook," Lois informed her cousin with a grin.

"He is," Chloe agreed, a little more relaxed, "which considering our family's cooking skills, it's a really good thing." 

Oliver's mouth curled into a smirk and he glanced at her sideways, amused. 

"No kidding," Lois agreed, stuffing another bite of food into her mouth.

"Someone has to be able to feed all these kids," Chloe smirked, reaching and patting Ollie's leg.

"So you're still going to adopt?" Clark asked, frowning a little.

Oliver looked over at him, reaching down and covering Chloe's hand with his own. "We've been working on the adoption process for a few months now. We visited a children's group home in Los Angeles and our first visit there we met a little girl." His expression softened. "Her name's Annabelle."

Chloe nodded a little, fingers curling around Oliver's, "we just got the approval today, we can pick her up in two weeks. She's three."

"What's she like?" Lois asked curiously, taking a drink of her wine.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe sipped on her water and leaned back against the chair, "she's really sweet, she has only been for about six months so she's still really shy and from what we could tell, she's quiet unless she's with people she's comfortable with."

Oliver shifted, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and flipping to a picture of the three of them together, holding the phone out to them. 

Lois took it from him. "Wow," she murmured, staring at the picture for a moment before passing the phone to Clark.

Clark looked at the picture, his eyes widening a little, "she looks like you," he said to Chloe, surprised as he passed the phone to Emil.

"And she has brown eyes like Oliver," Emil remarked, raising his eyebrows, looking from the picture to Chloe and Oliver.

Chloe grinned softly and nodded, "yeah, she just kind of found us when we first went to visit the orphanage."

"Maybe that's something we should look into," Clark said, glancing at Lois.

"Adopting?" Lois asked, raising her eyebrows.

Clark shrugged a little, picking up his fork and glancing at her. "Conner is almost in college already."

"Assuming we can convince him to actually go," she said.

Chloe smirked a little and glanced at Ollie then back at the two of them, "you can always babysit for us a couple of times before you decide if you're ready."

Oliver smirked faintly at that, raising his eyebrows. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

Clark glanced over at them then shifted uncomfortably on his seat and nodded a little, glancing over at Lois.

With a deep breath, Chloe decided to take pity on him, "we do still have desert, Ollie made raspberry cheesecake."

"Ooh, cheesecake!" Lois said excitedly, glad for the change of topic. 

Chloe grinned a little and nodded then glanced at her husband, "I'll go get it," she offered.

"You sure? I can grab it," Oliver said, giving her hand a squeeze.

"Yeah," she assured him, "as long as I don't have to do anything to it?"

"No, it should be good." He kissed her cheek before letting her go, a soft smile on his mouth.

She smiled at him then got up and started toward the kitchen.

Clark wrapped his arm around Lois' shoulders and glanced at her.

"So. You must be pretty excited," Lois commented, raising his eyebrows at Oliver. "Two kids on the way."

He smiled at that, sitting back in his chair. "Can't deny that."

"I can look at pediatricians in the city and recommend you one," Emil told Oliver.

"Thank you. That'd be great," he said sincerely.

Chloe came back a moment later with the cheese cake and a few desert plates then set them down carefully on the table, smiling softly at them and handing Ollie the knife, "you get to serve them too."

He chuckled softly, rising to his feet and cutting the dessert, dishing it onto the plates she'd given him and handing them out around the table. He watched Chloe with a content smile on his mouth.

She smiled back at him and relaxed against her chair, smiling back at him. Emil had assured them everything seemed to be okay and she was still going to make an appointment with their regular doctor as soon as possible since he knew about what had happened last time, but she felt a lot more relaxed than before and Ollie seemed to be too, so hopefully things would actually go right this time and they would have both of their kids with them soon enough.


	10. Chapter 10

Chloe smiled at Oliver and squeezed his hand as they walked into the orphanage for one last time. They were there to pick up Annabelle and take her home with them. They hadn't told her anything about her moving to their house since they didn't want to get her hopes up, but she had started to cry every time they had to leave, so Chloe figured that was a good sign. Even if she'd started crying _with_ her the last couple of times.

She blamed the hormones, though and hopefully there would be no crying today.

"How do you think she'll react?" Chloe asked quietly.

He glanced at her sideways. "I think she's going to be thrilled."

"I think so too," she grinned.

He smiled, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Come on."

Chloe leaned into his kiss a little and smiled, holding her breath as they made their way to the toy room, where they were told Annabelle would be at since they had to pack her things and they didn't want her to see it. She paused at the door and looked in, "Bell?" She called the little girl by her nickname.

The little blond turned around, her eyes lighting up when she saw Chloe. "Hi!" She ran over and wrapped her arms around Chloe's legs.

Her chest tightened and she grinned at Ollie then bent down and picked her up before kissing her cheek, "hi."

She hugged Chloe's neck and smiled at Oliver.

Oliver smiled back at her, resting a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Hi, Bell," he whispered.

"Hi," she grinned shyly, holding out her hand to him.

"Why don't we go to one of the other rooms?" Chloe suggested, rubbing her hand over Bell's back gently.

He nodded, moving away from the door to allow her room to get around him, then he followed her across the hall to one of the rooms that was empty. His heart was beating quickly in his chest.

"Are we going somewhere?" Annabelle asked, raising her head and looking up at Chloe.

"We are," she told her, smiling down at her as they entered the room.

"Bell, how would you feel about coming to live with us?" he asked gently.

Her brown eyes widened and she turned to look at him, "in your _house_?" She gasped.

Oliver nodded a little, raising his eyebrows. "In our house. With your own room and everything." 

"Yes!" She grinned, bouncing a little on Chloe's lap. "Can we go now?"

Chloe laughed softly, relieved and hugged her tightly, "we can, but we need to get Strawberry and the rest of your things first."

Oliver's chest felt warm as he smiled at the two of them, kissing Chloe's temple, and then the top of Annabelle's head. "Why don't you two hang out and I'll go grab everything?"

Nodding slightly, Chloe smiled at Ollie and kissed his cheek, "go ahead, we'll meet you at the car," she told him quietly.

"I love you," he whispered, holding her gaze for a moment, then turning and heading away.

She took a deep breath and looked from him to the little girl in her arms, "we have a room with lots of red in it for you," she told her, starting out of the room, "it's your favorite color, right?"

Bell nodded, her eyes bright. "Are you going to be my new mommy?"

Her chest tightened at that and Chloe nodded slightly, her own eyes bright as she leaned her forehead against the little girl's, "I would like to be. Do you want me to be your new mommy?"

She smiled, her cheek dimpling a little. "Yes, pwease!"

Chloe grinned brightly and tightened her arms around her, squishing her a little, "thank you, Bell."

She giggled a little, hugging her back. "Welcome!"

She pressed another kiss to her cheek and smiled, "And Ollie will be your new daddy," she told her as they made their way outside.

Bell laid her head down on Chloe's shoulder, still smiling. "Will you read to me?"

"I will," Chloe promised, rubbing her back once more, "I will read you a bedtime story every night and I'll help you learn how to read so we can read them together."

"I like books!" she said excitedly.

Chloe grinned softly, "I do too, we can go by the bookstore on the way home and you can get a bunch of new ones, how would you like that?"

Bell lifted her head up, her eyes wide. "Really?"

"Really," Chloe smiled, "we'll need books to read at bedtime, right? Lots of different ones so we can have something different every night."

She beamed and hugged Chloe once more.

Oliver climbed out of the driver's seat of the car and grinned at the sight of them together. "Are we ready?"

"We are," Chloe smiled at him, settling Bell in the brand new red car seat they had gotten her, "comfortable?" She asked once she had fastened the seatbelt.

Bell nodded solemnly, her eyes still wide with excitement.

Chloe glanced at her husband then held out Strawberry to Bell and closed the back door before getting in the front seat, "all right, ready."

Oliver smiled at her over the top of the car, then climbed in beside. They were _all_ ready.

* * *

It was a little after eight when Chloe and Ollie managed to get Bell to bed. She was supposed to be asleep at eight but considering it was their first night with her, Chloe felt like they had done pretty well. They were still getting to know each other, but it had been a really good day. They went shopping on the way home and had gotten Bell a lot of books as promised, then they had lunch and Bell napped for a while.

It seemed like they were getting along well so far and it was as good a start as Chloe could have hoped for.

She was sitting on one side of Bell and Ollie was on the other, apparently Beauty and the Beast was one of Bell's favorite stories so Chloe had started reading it to her, her eyes were starting to close already, but she didn't stop.

Oliver smiled softly at the sight of the little girl curled up between them. It had been an amazing day--even more amazing than he'd imagined it would be. He leaned down and kissed the top of her blond head and looked over at Chloe, his chest tightening. She looked happier than he could ever remember seeing her. More than just happy. _Radiant._ Some part of him wondered how he'd managed to end up here, with a family of his own--the one thing that had always been just out of reach in his life.

Chloe smiled warmly as she glanced at him and kept on reading even as she turned her head and kissed the top of his head before going back to the story. Bell definitely seemed to be exhausted, her tiny body was heavy and relaxed, half against her arm, half against her pillows and both her arms wrapped around her pink bear.

Within moments her eyes had drooped completely shut as she fell asleep.

He kissed the top of her head once more, offering Chloe a warm smile then moving off the bed slowly so not to disturb the little girl. He moved over and turned on the red star nightlight they'd gotten for her a couple days before, and then he headed out the door.

She got up slowly too, not really wanting to leave her side, but looking forward to having some time to check in with Ollie and see how he was doing. She pulled the overs up and double checked on the tiny microphone she had attached to the back of her headboard before kissing the top of her head too then following her husband out of the room.

He slid his arms around her waist as soon as she was in the hallway. "This is incredible."

Chloe smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around him too, "I agree."

"We're going to be great parents. Especially you." He kissed her cheek.

"No, we both are," she corrected him, tightening her arms around him, "for both of them."

Oliver held her gaze, nodding a little. "You look beautiful," he whispered.

Her face softened and she looked up at him for a moment then tiptoed and kissed him deeply.

He kissed her back without hesitation, cupping her cheek in his hand gently.

When Chloe pulled away from him again, her eyes were bright with tears, happy tears, "thank you," she whispered to him.

"Thank _you_ ," he whispered back. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, Chloe."

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me too, Ollie." She murmured, brushing her nose against his, "and I never thought I could be happier than when we moved here to start our lives together, but you proved me wrong." She grinned softly, eyes tearing again, "you always do when it comes to this."

Oliver leaned his forehead against hers. "I hope I always will. I'll always try."

"So will I," she told him, "but you're all it takes. You and our family." Because even though they had just brought Bell home and the baby was still over six months away from being born, they already felt like a family of four and she loved the three of them more than she had ever loved anyone in her life.

"Come on. I have a feeling we're going to need all the rest we can get these next few months," he told her, kissing her temple.

"We will," she agreed, pulling away and reaching for his hand, "but I also think we should use our alone time as best as we can while I can still move," she smirked, walking backwards to the master bedroom and pulling him with her.

His eyes widened a little at that and he slid his hand into hers, grinning. "I do love the way you think, Mrs. Queen."

"Sneaking around like teenagers again," she told him, "welcome to parenthood? We'll be doing this for the next eighteen years or so, Mr. Queen."

"You know..." Oliver smiled at her, his eyes filled with warmth. "I'm really okay with that."

"So am I," she told him, reaching for the door and closing it quietly before turning to look at him again and wrapping her arms around his neck then kissing him deeply.

He kissed her back, one hand tangling in her hair. So they didn't do things the conventional way. They just did it _their_ way. And that's how he knew they would be okay.


End file.
